Prophecies for our Time

Last updated on: December 31, 2011 at 6:39 am by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Prophecies for our Time 2011-12-31T06:39:00-05:00 Fr. Dwight Longenecker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As we enter the new year, and naturally look to the future, think again of the struggle that is going on all the time between the Church and the powers of darkness. This review of Benson’s The Lord of the World by my friend Fr. John McCloskey is a grim and sure reminder that we “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and the forces of wickedness in high places.” The best thing about the review is an extended quotation from Newman about the great apostasy–which is putting personal experience above truth.

So Bl. John Henry Newman writes: (and remember Newman’s writing is eloquent and dense–so it is worth reading and then re-reading)

Is there not a vigorous and united movement in all countries to cast down the Church of Christ from power and place? Is there not a feverish and ever-busy endeavor to get rid of the necessity of Religion in public transactions? … An attempt to educate without Religion? —that is, by putting all forms of Religion together, which comes to the same thing… An attempt to make expedience, and not truth, the end and the rule of measures of State and the enactments of Law? An attempt to make numbers, and not the Truth, the ground of maintaining, or not maintaining, this or that creed, as if we had any reason whatever in Scripture for thinking that the many will be in the right, and the few in the wrong? … An attempt to supersede Religion altogether, as far as it is external or objective, as far as it is displayed in ordinances, or can be expressed by written words — to confine it to our inward feelings, and thus, considering how variable, how evanescent our feelings are, an attempt, in fact, to destroy Religion? Surely, there is at this day a confederacy of evil, marshalling its hosts from all parts of the world, organizing itself, taking its measures, enclosing the Church of Christ as in a net, and preparing the way for a general Apostasy from it.

Now, and in the years to come we will see an increasing clarity in this struggle. Protestantism will move away from any pretense of being a supernatural religion. It will become one of three things: a dry exercise in fundamentalist Biblical exegesis applied in practical ways or it will be a superficially exciting blend of self help teaching and inspiring religious feelings or thirdly, it will be a fellowship of religiously inspired social activists. What it will not be is a supernatural religion claiming supernatural authority instituted on earth for the salvation of souls.

Catholics will also become clear about their mission. Those who have turned Catholicism into an inspiring self help program or a fellowship for social activism will die out. Their shallow religion will prove to be no religion at all, and those who desire this false religion will go to the Protestants where it will be done more effectively and efficiently. This new religion (which will grow out of Protestantism) will increasingly become the religion of the state. The anti-Christ state will realize that some religion is better than no religion at all, and as the Chinese have established a false Catholic Church, the American people will increasingly follow this hollow form of ‘advanced’ Protestantism.

The most insidious form of this new religion will be the evolution of ‘conservative’ Evangelicalism. It will lose it’s Biblical roots and lose any sense of objectivity in moral or doctrinal teaching. The leaders will eschew all denominational affiliations and choose instead to graze among all the Christian teachers–taking a tradition here, a doctrine there, a worship practice here and a moral teaching there. Each one will be, even more than they have been in the past, a law unto themselves. Individual opinion and subjective sentiment will be their only guide. They will not be limited to Christian teaching, but will adopt and adapt Eastern religious practices and New Age practices as they seem to fit, and they will do so with slick marketing, high technology and attractive communication techniques.

As the old ‘liberal’ Protestantism dies out their social activism and moral laxity will be absorbed by this new syncretism. Trendy mega church pastors will make headlines for their work with the poor and their courage for setting up a church in the slums. They will campaign for women’s rights and homosexual liberation. They will trumpet ‘forgiveness’ after divorce and remarriage, will admit that “sometimes abortion is a necessary solution to a difficult problem” and they will espouse contraception and overlook fornication and co habitation as “The way things are now.” In other words, they will adopt all the positions of what we now term “liberalism” and they will do so while still wearing the coat of the “Evangelical Conservative.” They will simply say they are “compassionate Conservatives.”

In the midst of this, Catholicism will stand out as the only supernatural religion that remains. Because of this they world (and the false religions of the world) will join forces to oppose the Catholic faith. This situation will not be different than it has always been in the world.

It will simply be more obvious and transparent.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 30, 2011

Church Militant

Next Post

December 31, 2011 Mother of God Story

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Matters Apologetics Architecture Blobble Study Book Reviews Brideshead Caitlin O'Rourke Catholic Art Catholic Culture Church Politics Chust for Nice Contemporary Culture Duane Mandible Ed Blanch Film Reviews Fr Harvey Nicolaitan Frank Viola Mantilla the Hon More Christianity Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady Mystery of the Magi Norman Anderson Queen Hillary Saints and Supernatural Spirituality The Inklings The Vicar Theology Todd Unctuous Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz